Wave-motor.



PATENTED APR. 2'4, 1906.

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F. M. DEMPSEY. WAVE MOTOR.

APPLIOATION FILED DB0. 21. 1905.

Q, QNhJ SMU onto@ M az .1. .1.1 1 vu MM PATENTED APR. 24, 1906,

P. M. DEMPSEY. .WAVE MOTOR.

APPLIOATION FILED DBG. 21, 1905.

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mw N XN @Montali UNITED STATES PATENT orrron.

WAVE-MOTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 24, 1906.

Application filed December 21, 1905. Serial No. 292.805.

To all whom, it Ntcty/ concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK M. DEMI- sEY, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Vallejo, in the county of Solano and State ofCalifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inVVave-Motors; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to wave-motors and om` of the principal objectsof the same is to accumulate the energy exerted by the waves of the seaor other body of water and utilizing said energy for compressing air,which may be stored for future use in connection with various arts, suchas running electric light and power plants or to furnish compressed airto be used in steam-engines instead of steam.

Another object is to provide a simple and constantly-operated wave-motorwhich will operate under various conditions and which will be reliable,strong, and durable in use and which will not be liable to get out oforder.

These and other objects are accomplished by means of the constructionillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is avertical sectional view of a device made in accordance with myinvention, and Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a power plantestablished in accordance with my invention.

Referring to the drawings for a more particular description of theinvention, the numoral 1 designates an anchoror weight adapted to restupon the bottom of the ocean, bay, or other body of water at. a pointsome distance from the shore. This anchor may be convenientlyconstructed of sheet metal and provided with a chamber 2, which may befilled with rook, sand, or other heavy substance. A central chamber 3 isrovided, and at the upper wall of the centra chamber a socket 4 isformed'in any suitable manner, as by plates 5 6, secured to the body ofthe anchor by bolts 7. A weighted ball 8 is fitted within the socket andis provided with a shank 9 and a weight 1() at the lower end thereof. Atthe upper end of the ball 3 a flange 11 projects, and connected to thisshank by a cross-bolt 12 is a pulley-frame 13, to which a wheel orpulley 14 is journaled. A float or buoy 15, comprising a hollowsheet-metal casing, is connected to the anchor by means of a cable I6,attached to a ring 17 on the buoy and to a ring 18 on the anchor, therebeing sufficient slack in the cable to permit a free movement of thebuoy within certain limits.

The buoy is adapted to ride the waves and upon an upward movement topull upon a cable 19, connected to the bottom wall of the buoy andpassing around the pulley 14 and from thence to a suitable windingmechanism or motor located upon the shore at some distance from thebuoy. Located upon the shore is a suitable frame or support 20, comyprisin T upright bars, and journaled within these zbars is a shaft 21.Loosely mounted upon this shaft is a winding-drum 22. At one end of thedrum and fixed to said drum is a ratchet-wheel 23, and at the side ofsaid ratchet-wheel and fixed to the shaft 21 is a wheel 24, to which aseries of pawls 25 are pivotally connected. Secured to the shaft 21 is agear-wheel 26, adapted to mesh with a pinion 27, fixed upon a crankshaft28, journaled in the frame of the machine. Connected to the crank 29 ofthe crank-shaft 28 is a piston 30, adapted to reciprocate in a cylinder31 to force air through a ipe 32 to a place of storage or use. The cab e19 passes around a grooved pulley 33, journaled in the motor-frame, saidcable extending thence up and around the drum or cylinder and formingthree or four strands of the cable around sald drum, the winding beingfrom the front toward the back, so that when there is a pull upon thecable 19 the drum or cylinder is rotated backwardly, as indicated by thearrow in Fig. 1. A cable 34, having a weight 35 secured to its lowerend, is wound upon the drum or 'cylinder in a direction opposite to thewinding of the cable 19.

The operation of the invention may be dcscribed as follows: When thebuoy rises upon the crest of a wave, it draws upon the cable 19,Whichrotates the drum or cylinder 22 in the direction of the arrow, andthe awls engage the ratchet-teeth and rotate the s aft 21. The rotationof this shaft operates the air-pump in an obvious manner and forces airthrough a pipe to a place of storage or use. When the buoy descends inthe trough of the sea, there is a certain amount of slack in the cable19, which is promptly taken up by means of the cable 34 and the Weightthereon, the pawls then ridin Y over the teeth on the ratchetwheel untithe buoy again ascendsupon the crest of a wave, when the winding actionis repeated. It will be understood, of course, that any number of drumsor cylinders may IOO IIO

be mounted upon the shaft 2 to bel used in connection with a buoy andanchor for each cylinder or drum, and in this Way a large uantit ofenergy may be stored. Owing to t e slac in the cable 16, the float orbuoy can move out of .a vertical lane with the anchor Withoutinterfering with the action of the cable 19, owing to theball-and-socket arrangement and the manner of mounting the pulley.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that the Winding mechanism may belocated upon a brid e over the water or a raft instead of being ocatedon the shore, and it will be understood that the Word shore in theclaims is intendedto cover such an arrangement and location of the partsof the device.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details ofconstruction may be resorted to Without departing from the principle orsacrificing any of the advantages of this invention. l

Having thus described my invention, what I'claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a Wave-motor, a buoy adapted to rise and fall with the waves, ananchoring device connected to the buoy bya slack cable, a driving-cableconnected to the buoy and passing around a pulley mounted upon aweighted ball, and a socket for said ball on said anchor, in combinationwith` a winding mechanism, and means for storing the energy by the riseand fall of the buoy, substantially as described.

2. A wave-motor comprising a buoyant element, a weight or anchor, acable connected to the buoyant element and passing around a pulleymounted upon a Weighted ball, and a socket for said ball upon the weightor anchor, in combination with a winding-drum mounted loosely upon ashaft, a ratchet mechanism secured to said shaft to be rotated aroundsaid pulley, said cable extending to a winding mechanism upon the shore,in combination With a drum mounted loosely u on a shaft, a ratchetmechanism fixed to said rum,

a cable and counterweight for takin up the slack of the first-mentionedcable, an an airpump operated by said shaft, substantially as described.

4. A wave-motor comprising a buoy, a weight or anchor, a flexibleconnection between said buoy and anchor, a socket formed in the upperwall of the anchor, a weighted ball adapted to move in said socket, apulley connected to said ball, a cable connected to the buoy andextending around said pulley, said cable extending to and around a drumlocated upon the shore, said drum being loosely mounted upon a shaft, aratchet mechanism iixed to said shaft at the side of said drum, acounterweight for taking up the slack of said cable, a gear-Wheel onsaid shaft, a crank-shaft mounted inthe frame, a pinion meshing with'said gear-wheel, and an airpump operated by said crank-shaft,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing Witnesses.

FREDERICK M. DEMPSEY.

Witnesses:

JOEL A. HARVEY, FRED D. HiesoN.

